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Terrorists freed in Pakistan jailbreak

Tom Hussain

Islamabad: Pakistani soldiers and Pakistani Taliban insurgents were locked in a standoff at a fortress-like prison in the northwest city of Dera Ismail Khan, after the insurgents freed several dozen terrorist prisoners in a raid marked by two hours of automatic weapons fire and about 60 grenade explosions.

The militants remain inside the prison, along with jail staff and prisoners, with the Pakistani army arrayed outside.

Local police had been overwhelmed by the superior weaponry of the militants, who destroyed a police vehicle with a grenade, injuring three officers. Five people were reported dead in the initial assault on the high-security jail, which was claimed by Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.

It said more than 100 militants were involved in the raid, whose goal was to free some 250 convicted terrorists belonging to the TTP and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a Pakistani al-Qaeda affiliate.

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The attackers occupied a girls’ college, a private hospital and several homes on three sides of the prison, from where they opened fire with automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades. The fire provided cover to a small party of attackers who scaled the prison’s outer wall and planted explosives powerful enough to blow holes in it.

It was unclear exactly how many inmates had escaped during the melee, with officials estimating the number of missing prisoners at anywhere between 25 and 40. Six were recaptured nearby, still wearing handcuffs.

The attack apparently caught prison authorities ill-prepared, despite a warning on the weekend from security agencies of an impending attack and rioting by militant inmates.

Officials at the jail had met to discuss security arrangements but made no changes.

The Taliban staged a similar assault on a jail in the nearby town of Bannu in April 2012, freeing some 400 prisoners, including a notorious bomb maker.